Charleston is a dream destination for recreational diners. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a concentration of truly amazing restaurants in a city of this size anywhere else in the United States. Last March, I spent four days devouring Charleston with my friend Jenny on an adult-style spring break. And let me tell you, adulting in Charleston is incredibly delicious. I can’t wait to do it again.
We stayed at The Dewberry, a Midcentury Modern southern charmer located in easy walking distance to the main attractions. It has a very groovy, Mad Men-esque vibe…with a Lowcountry twist. The elegant staff couldn’t have been more welcoming and gracious from check-in to check-out.
My favorite trademark of Charleston-style hospitality is how the whole community seems genuinely invested in making sure visitors eat as well as humanly possible. Restaurant servers, bartenders, tour guides, drivers and bellhops were constantly enquiring as to where we had already dined and where we were going next. When asked, they all happily shared their personal favorites with such sincere passion.
Between the kindness of local strangers and some advanced online research, we organically crowd sourced our culinary adventures. The end result was the most magical never-ending feast, listed in order of occurrence, with not one disappointing meal among them.
Millers All Day: The concierge at The Dewberry sent us to Millers All Day for brunch upon our arrival. The big, bright daytime diner specializes in elevated traditional southern basics. I ordered the Millers’ Plate, opting for my two eggs scrambled, a biscuit, home fries and swapped out the bacon for fruit. I paired my brunch with a Golden Bloody Mary made with yellow tomato, roasted peppers and corn.
Citrus Club: You don’t have to be a hotel guest to get into The Dewberry’s Citrus Club cocktail lounge, but it sure helps. The eighth-floor terrace is considered one of the tallest rooftops in all of Charleston. It’s a pretty spot for a pre-dinner drink and light bites with a sweeping view of the rooftops and sea of steeples below.
The Ordinary: If I was ranking this list, I’d definitely include The Ordinary in my top three. The seafood hall and oyster bar has a lively, effervescent atmosphere. Our highly engaged server certainly enhanced our experience, from making menu selections to writing out a list of restaurant recommendations. We had oysters, soft shell crab, zucchini carpaccio and some divine sweet potato concoction. Everything was so fresh and seemingly simple.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit: We grabbed takeaway biscuit sandwiches at the City Market location of Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits for breakfast on the go before a walking tour. I built my own biscuit, with egg, cheddar and avocado. It hit the spot with its oozy, comforting, messy deliciousness.
Renzo: Brunch at critical darling Renzo took us outside of the downtown bubble. The cozy, welcoming and stylish restaurant felt like a true neighborhood spot. I had a fish melt of some sort with pimento cheese and an herbaceous salad. And a side of those addictive double fried kind of breakfast potatoes.
Fig: Fig was one of those places practically everyone raved about, so it became our mission to get in given it’s so challenging to get a reservation day-of. We followed the concierge’s advice and showed up about 30 minutes after they opened. We put our name on the list for the bar and communal table seats allocated to walk-ins on a first-come, first-served basis. We only ended up waiting about a half hour, and it was with a cocktail in hand, so nothing to complain about! And dinner was a masterpiece, from the soft shell crab and beets to the mind-blowing Fish Stew Provençal.
82 Queen: We went classic for Sunday brunch, booking 82 Queen at the recommendation of our carriage tour guide. We got a table outside on the big courtyard with lovely old school ambiance complete with live jazz. I ordered the crab benedict that came served atop a fried green tomato and cheesy grits. And a side of biscuits, because when in the South…
Leon’s Oyster Shop: Leon’s also made a lot of lists and we quickly understood why after setting foot in the converted auto shop space. We stopped in for a late lunch/snack on our way back from Folly Beach. The oysters and crunchy greens paired with friendly service sure hit the spot.
Husk: So utterly smitten with our dinner at Husk in Savannah, we were determined to experience the original in Charleston. Another tough one to get into on short notice, we arrived early to put our name on the walk-in list. Then went next door to their bar, which also had a menu of snacks to tide us over. Um, pimento cheese was a no-brainer for our last night in the south! After a 1.5-hour wait in the cool little bar, dinner consisted of a seasonal salad and fish with a ridiculous waffle dessert to finish.
167 Raw: For our very last meal, we arrived well before 167 Raw’s 11:00 a.m. opening time. It was a Monday, so there were only a few other parties ahead of us, already lined up outside. Feeling rather victorious once seated at the chef’s counter, we plowed our way through course after course of oysters, shrimp cocktail, a lobster roll, soup and salad. The tiny oyster bar was so deserving of its hype, it could not have been a more fitting finale.
Did I mention that we ate oysters every day? It was heaven. The only downside to Charleston was not having enough time to get to more places on our ever-growing recommendations list. As if I needed another excuse to return!
